Main Menu

Books

The Sibley Guides series began with the publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000, and since then has expanded to include four additional books on birds and, in 2009, The Sibley Guide to Trees. This website presents some of my ongoing efforts to identify and understand the birds and trees of North America.

I’ve been watching and drawing nature for most of my life, with a heavy emphasis on birds until about seven years ago. I consider myself a scientific illustrator and the goal of most of my art is to reveal the larger patterns and systems of nature by learning what makes each species different from (and similar to) other species. I hope you’ll join in this pursuit of knowledge and share the pleasure of discovery. There are still so many mysteries to solve and things to discover all around us, and the opportunities for learning never end.

I have written and illustrated a number of books, listed below. Clicking on any title will lead to a page with more information about that book.

I use “structure” to refer to all aspects of shape and proportions. So this statement means the both the overall shape and proportions as well as details like bill shape and tail shape are similar to Black-throated Green.

Are you planning on doing any guides on other taxonomic groups? I love that you did a guide to trees and your guides are far superior to the other guides out there; other taxa really need good guides. I’d like to humbly BEG (please, please, please!!!!) that you do a guide for North American reptiles and amphibians (preferably a separate guide for each). There are a few good regional/state guides for these two groups, but there are no good guides covering all of North America. Thank you!

That’s a good question, sorry I don’t know the answer. I would think searching online, including used copies, would be the best bet. It’s published in Quebec so some Canadian booksellers should have it.

Yes, there is a chance, but with so many different phone platforms around, as well as iPad and other tablet OS, we have to choose carefully where to invest time and effort. A Blackberry version of the eGuide is currently in beta-testing, and I’m not sure which will be next, or when, but I will announce it here on the website whenever it is decided.

Have you considered putting bird songs/sounds into your Bird Identification Guides? I have Peterson’s North American Birds CD, but it would be nice to have a guide + songs all in one volume. I do have Music of the Birds by Lang Elliot, which lists only 75 bird sounds.
I am enjoying your Bird Calendar for 2011, one of many gifts I get with a bird theme!

Thanks Phyllis, You can get all the content from the book along with audio of songs and calls in the Sibley eGuide for iPhone/iPod, Android, and (soon) Blackberry. There are no plans to publish a CD to accompany the book.

David, Have you ever considered a Field guide where the Birds of North America are arranged in Alphabetical order by Common name rather than grouped together by families? The bird you would be looking for would be a lot faster to find this way rather than having to look it up in the index like I do all the time. Thanks for any reply to this! Randall

Hi Randall, Yes, this idea ad others (organizing birds by color, by habitat, by size, etc) have been tried and never really worked. The main drawback, in my opinion, is that it breaks up the natural groupings of families, which you will use more and more as you gain experience in bird ID. That is, if you know that the bird you want to look up is some kind of heron, it makes sense to have all the herons together in the guide, and not under G for Great Egret, S for Snowy Egret, C for Cattle Egret, and so on. In the electronic version of the guide you can choose the arrangement you want, and we currently offer sorting in taxonomic order or alphabetically.

David: I see your replies to Cathy (1/2012) and Steven (12/2011) and wanted to add my voice to those who are looking forward to the new Sibly. And of course, I am hopeful that the smaller guides will be updated as well – with updated maps. I am aware of how hard it is to meet everyone’s expectations (including our own) but allow me to say how much I appreciate the western guide and to affirm that I use it daily and carry it with me “for emergency sightings.”

Over 20 years ago, I got one of your numbered prints of a pair of Pyrrhuloxia pearched on prickly pear cactus. Did you offer other birds in print at that time, and if so, which species? Are any of them still available?

Also, I too, am anxiously awaiting your next edition of “The Sibley Guide to Birds”. Don’t forget to include the dark morph of the Hook-billed Kite. We just saw one last week at Santa Ana NWR in the LRGV.

Hi Pat, Those prints were made by Bird Watcher’s Digest after that painting was on the cover of the magazine back in the late 1980s. About ten years ago I did another cover for them – a Golden-winged Warbler. Both of those are still available from BWD. My web page has links to those and a couple of other prints as well: http://www.sibleyguides.com/art-gallery/prints-for-sale/

Hi Pamela, Over the years that idea has come up several times in discussions with my publisher, but we’ve always chosen to focus on the larger regions. It’s possible in the future, but there are no current plans.

Have you ever thought about making a flashcard app for the iphone out of your bird guide? I know the guide itself is available as an app, but I’m surprised no one has produced a flashcard app of North American birds. It would be an awesome way to learn birds by testing yourself.

I posted a comment previously that now seems to have disappeared from the site. We have a Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America that has printing errors, including missing pages and many printed out of order. We’d like to request an accurate copy, either through Knopf or as otherwise directed. We’ve not been able to find any mention of the issue or response to our previous inquiries. It is the most current copy, purchased in 2012 through a reputable nature center.

Hi Bethany, I’ve heard of a couple of other cases of missing pages or out-of-order pages in guides, it happens rarely and you should definitely get a replacement. I’ll send you a private email to work out the details.
Best, David

I look forward to the updated versions of your bird guides, as I own them all. I have come across a situation with Pileated Woodpeckers in my yard the last two years. Last year I had two birds with brown primaries instead of black; this year I’ve seen one so far. In checking with Birds of North America Online, I find that this coloring is a characteristic of young birds. I have noticed that no guide in my possession, and I have several, indicates this coloring. Will this be shown in your updated guides, or is this something that your research showed to be so uncommon as to be not worth depicting?

I am another fan of your guides and use the Eastern book for here in Miami(though I have purchased all versions). Will there be East-West versions of the new book and how much later will they be published after the full version? Will the layout for the illustrations for the new guide be the same as the 1st Edition? Please include White-eyed Parakeet in your guide, they are now pretty common here.

David: I read my previous post and noted that I misspelled your last name…please forgive me. Now on to the current post. After much effort, I was able to observe a Marsh Wren – not a rare bird by any means but still a thrill for me. It was the posture as depicted in your guide (Western North America) that caught my eye. Then after waiting a bit longer, I was able to get more concrete information by observation – again using your guide. All of that to say, you really have packed alot of information in the small guide. Thanks again.

Hi Jim, I’ve thought of it, in fact I did some work on one before I did the Tree Guide, but it would have required too much travel since we have relatively few butterfly species in Massachusetts. I won’t rule it out completely but I have no plans to start work on one – more bird projects in the next few years. Best, David

Hi Richard, There have been some discussions about making an ebook of the bird guide, but there are technical challenges with getting the images and text to work together on small screens, and the resulting file would be massive. It would work on a tablet, but is still not very practical. The app (http://www.sibleyguides.com/about/the-sibley-eguide-to-birds-app/) is a more flexible format for small screens, but doesn’t work on PC’s… yet.

David, as an artist I deeply appreciate your work, continuing the tradition of American naturalist-artists that is perhaps disappearing. Tonight we viewed the Ivory Bill documentary (sorry, I came in the room late and didn’t get the name of the film), and my appreciation for your work increased many fold. A true naturalist-artist must be honest–is more likely, in my opinion, to be honest because of the necessity of concrete observation.
About a year ago, a guy named Randall raised the question of an alpha listing to save running back to the index. Well, you are right, the groupings must be by families. I have found that when I’m using the Guide regularly I can usually get to the right section instinctively, but I wonder if you have looked at the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, which has a Quick Reference guide on the inside front and back covers, with page number next to the representative bird of a family or genus? Perhaps this suggestion is too late for your new edition, but when in ZA I find this feature to be very helpful. Then again, going through the book page by page to look for a bird is WONDERFUL: you learn about so many other birds you were not looking for!
Thanks for many hours of pleasure and information, K.

I have been using your Guides for years. Your guide to Eastern North America has been my go to guide in the field. Because of Superstorm Sandy,I have had to use your Android app or resort to other guides,as my Eastern guide was badly water damaged leading to mold damage. Before I went to replace it, I was directed to your website and found you are publishing a new edition. Is it still set for sale in the spring of 2014, and can it be pre-ordered? If so, how and when can I pre-order it? I am most anxious to have the book. Will your Android app be updated at that time, too?

I am looking forward in getting the second version of the guide to birds, but I have a question. Can it only be preordered in hardcover? As much as I like hardcover books, I prefer paperback guides, so I was wondering if I can also preorder in paperback.

There will only be one version of the book for sale – a flexibound cover like the first edition. Some sellers call it “hardcover” and some call it “paperback” but don’t let that confuse you. There is only one binding available.

I was just about to order the National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds, when I noticed your new book is coming out in March. Will the new edition cover the same species and geography as the one I just mentioned? I’m wondering if I should wait to buy the new edition or buy the Audubon book, depending on what species and regions are covered.

If I were you, and if waiting six weeks was not a problem, I would hold off and buy the new edition. It covers the same region and species as the first edition, but adds over 100 new species (mostly rare visitors) as well as new maps and revised text for all species.

Hi Debbie, The second edition covers the same area as the first. I considered adding Hawaii but decided against it for this edition – hopefully I’ll have a chance to add those birds to a future edition.

Hi Alton, Thank you. One page in from the back cover is a Quick Index listing all of the species groups in the book. I don’t know of any third-party quick index for the book, so if you learn of one please let me know.

Are you planning to revise the individual Sibley Guides to Birds of Eastern North America and Western North America, based on the new second edition of the Sibley Guide to Birds? That would be great if you did. Thank you.

Further to my query on whether you planned to create revised editions of the separate bird guides to Eastern and Western North America (based on the new Sibley Guide to Birds (Second Edition), (if you do so)I would just like to offer you a couple of suggestions:

– I think that the Quick Index might be put on the inside front cover for easier access, and

– You might add the Mountain Chickadee to the Eastern book, as it can irrupt in winter into the Eastern region.

Thank you for your new Sibley Guide to Birds. The books are beautiful and wonderful.

Dear David –
I agree with Alton’s comments above. The book is beautiful and the larger, brighter images are most welcome. However, the small, gray text is very difficult to read and present a serious obstacle to use in the field. Hopefully, at least the text color, if not the size, could be corrected by your publisher in reprints and future editions.

First off I love your guides. Honestly they are easier for me to use when identifying birds than the any other guide, even the Peterson guides. I was excited to know that you had a published a second edition to your already famous “Sibley Guide to Birds.” In regard to the publishing of this second edition I was wondering if the smaller guides such as ” The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America” or ” The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America” will also be updated and revised in upcoming years? Or if possibly a “Sibley Field Guide to Trees” may be published for field use unlike the large “Sibley Guide to Trees”? Your response and thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely,
An Interested Naturalist and Reader

I was considering using your Birding Flashcards to accompany our study of the Burgess Bird Book (with my 6 year old). Is there a way to get a list of the birds featured in the flash cards to see if the same birds are in both? Those listed in the first ten chapters of Burgess are: House Wren; Sparrows: English, Song, White-Throated, Fox, Chipping, Vesper, and Tree; Bluebird, Robin, Phoebe and Least Flycatcher, Kingbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Wood Peewee, Woodcock, Spotted Sandpiper, Red Winged Blackbird, and Golden Winged Flicker. Thank you for your time and assistance!

I have enjoyed your Field Guide to Western Birds for many years while living on the West Coast. But I am now living and working in Central Europe for a few years. Can you recommend a comparable field guide to the birds of this region? Thank you.

Hi Brad, That’s not meant to be any particular species, just a generic warbler-like bird. The different colors carry over to show which feathers are retained from the previous molt. It starts all blackish-gray, and the wings and tail are retained through the next two molts, and so on.

Hi David…I knew that! Had a very difficult time trying to explain it to a friend who just couldn’t believe such a bird didn’t exist after being featured in a field guide, lol. Your answer appeased him and he’s finally quit looking for it!
Cheers, Brad

Trackbacks

[…] wondering what they are. An informal poll of my coworkers showed a clear field guide favorite: the Sibley Guide, in either its full North America version or smaller, more portable Eastern and Western editions. […]

[…] illustrations and identification tips for over 2000 species of flora and fauna in the Sierra. The Sibley series of guides cover a wider region, including the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada. The options are endless, so […]

[…] Sibley’s Guides to Birds and Trees in North America provide a ‘holistic’ approach to identification based on features, characteristics, behaviours, differences/similarities and probabilities. These guides help people quickly determine patterns and the ‘gestalt’ of the item under consideration. They are described like a map rather than a key. For Rhizo15, a guide of this type would help examine patterns of conversations in twitter, explore features within readings or creative ventures, or analyze the differences/similarities found in the created works of participants. Mapping the rhizo15 learning experience is subjective but common characteristics can be seen in the interactions, actions, and patterns. […]

[…] version of Pokémon. You gotta see them all! Eventually I moved on to the National Geographic and Sibley’s Field Guide for a more modern look and updated names. Make sure you update your field guide at least […]

[…] Fred Sibley, David began watching and drawing birds at age seven. He’s an author (of my favorite bird guide), illustrator, ornithologist, and a down-to-earth nice guy. His favorite birds to draw are […]

[…] any field guide is out-of-date as soon as it’s published), we can get updates online on his website. It turns out that the checklists at the back of each book are missing species. Sibley gives the […]

[…] For the old-school, book-in-the-hand birder, current favorites include guides produced by David Sibley. If you expect to stay in the area, get “Sibley Birds West.” If you plan to roam the continent, you’ll want to add the similar “Sibley Birds East,” or go for the one-volume “The Sibley Guide to Birds.” […]

[…] kids started in birdwatching is usually quite a simple task. For our kids we merely picked up a bird guide for our area at a local shop, and our kids took right to it identifying the birds in our front […]